RoadHawk HD Review

The Roadhawk HD is a high-end dashboard camera that was released in early 2013, recording very good 1080p video at day and good quality night video due to the Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) feature. One of the first cameras to implement Electronic Image Stabilisation (EIS), it delivers surprisingly smooth video footage even when driving on bumpy roads.

While it comes with a 8 GB SD card, it supports up to 64GB SDXC memory. The bit rate is configurable between 4 and 12 Mbit/s, so at maximum bit rate and with a 64GB card you get nearly 12 hours of continous recording capacity before the loop recording starts to overwrite the oldest files.

The RoadHawk HD allows you to configure just about anything, from your Mac or PC (applications for both Windows and iOS are included on a CD-ROM). It allows you to set Brightness, Contrast, and Gamma values. You can also choose your preferred video file size, from 1 minute up to a maximum of 30 minutes if you prefer continuous footage — be aware that any setting greater than one minute will disable loop recording though.

Additionally to the RoadHawk’s internal GPS receiver, an external GPS antenna is included. The external GPS unit is waterproof and has a very long (16ft) cable, so you can affix it magnetically to the exterior of your car. This will give you better precision and a faster lock-on time. However, many customers have reported that the internal GPS worked just fine for them.

The vehicle’s speed, sat-nav position and G-Force data is overlaid on the video footage and can also be integrated with Google Maps by the RoadHawk’s software. All data is updated 5 times per second, which is a significant improvement over the older RoadHawk DC-1 and DC-2 dash cams (which updated their GPS data only once per second).

The camera only comes with two adhesive mounts that affix permanently to your car’s windshield, but a suction-cup mount can be acquired separately if needed. As any dash cam it has the necessary auto on/off, time/date/speed stamp on video, G-sensor and of course loop recording features. Impact detection makes sure your footage doesn’t get overwritten in case of an accident.

A nice extra feature is the 3.5mm microphone-in adapter, so if you value high quality audio footage along with your video you have the option to connect an external mike.

Customers have been quite satisfied with the RoadHawk HD: While there were problems initially with some large capacity SD cards, these have been sorted out by a firmware upgrade in December 2013. All in all, this is a reliable and high quality camera which can easily compete with the popular BlackVue DR500GW.

RoadHawk HD Video Samples

Remember to set the video resolution to 1080p (cog icon in the lower right corner).

Day Time Video Sample

Day time video is sharp and clear even under overcast and rainy weather conditions. License plates can be easily read from up close.

Night Time Video Sample

Night video is good too. Details are clearly visible and license plates can still be read when close, but at a distance can get tricky to read especially when your own headlights are reflected in them.